From Changsha to Yueyang, it is only two hours to make a train.

There was light rain today, the weather was foggy, and the surface of the lake was covered with a layer of moisture. Although it is already the 21st century, there are also rudimentary fishing boats with motors returning from the lake.

Lin Luoran and Rong Donglin stood on the embankment of Dongting Lake, the subtle lake breeze mixed with drizzle sprinkled on the two of them, even if they fanned, they would inevitably get wet clothes.

The water is rippling, not to mention the area of these eight hundred miles of cave court has shrunk, and even the water is no longer as clear as it used to be, even if there are dragons, I don't know how they can live in such water.

Long Lin Luoran didn't see it, but the fishing boats began to dump and sort today's harvest to the lake. The spring fishing ban is about to begin, and the fishermen are seizing the last time to catch fish, so boatloads of fish are pulled back in the sound of "clang" motors, and then dumped on the lake, where they are sorted by the elderly, weak women and children of the family.

This season is naturally not the time to eat crabs, but Dongting Lake is also rich in crayfish, March and April is the season for crayfish to burrow and spawn, fishermen rely on the fishing ban time has not officially begun, a large part of the dumped fish is crayfish.

After the crayfish die, it is poisonous and inedible, and the dead shrimp are spread on the lake beach, and in the spring of March, they are piled up like a mountain, giving off a disgusting fishy smell.

Spicy crayfish Lin Luoran loves to eat very much, but this way of fishing makes her sigh a little.

seemed to see what she was sighing, Rong Donglin scratched his head, "A buddy in the bedroom said that the crayfish in Yueyang is the cheapest, only 3 or 4 yuan a pound in summer, and the price can't be raised, so they can only take the amount to offset it." ”

Lin Luoran smiled, did not delve into this topic, but walked over with an umbrella.

"Eldest sister, do you sell this fish and shrimp?"

The fisherwoman worked hard and waved her hand again and again:

"Not for sale, not for sale."

Lin Luoran didn't force it, and asked door to door, there were more than a dozen fishermen on the lake embankment, and finally an old man who smoked took care of her.

Years of hard work have made the old man's bare skin bronzed, smelling of fish, guarding a tattered boat and smoking low-quality cigarettes.

"Uncle, how is the harvest today?"

This piece is so big, Lin Luoran chased others all the way to sell fish to her, the old fisherman had already heard it in his ears, he was waiting for the young man and woman to open his mouth to buy fish, but Lin Luoran asked him if the harvest was good, and he just looked at the man and woman.

Both of them look like they are in their early twenties, the boy looks ordinary, and this girl is very smart.

"Little girl, are you really here to buy fish?" The old fisherman took a puff of his cigarette and asked lukewarmly.

Rong Donglin has been beating the drum in his heart, Senior Sister Lin doesn't know what's wrong, the road is so hurried, the two of them flew straight to Changsha, and then transferred to Yueyang, they haven't rested all the way, how do you know that when they arrived at the edge of Dongting Lake, Lin Luoran didn't have a head and no brains to eat fish.

Listening to the old man's rhetorical question, Rong Donglin suddenly realized, a smart person like Senior Sister Lin will never be untargeted, he might as well wait for Senior Sister Lin's plan.

Lin Luoran's eyes rolled, and she looked no different from a schoolgirl who didn't know anything about the world:

"Uncle, we are naturally here to buy fish, do you want to sell this fish?"

The old fisherman glanced at the small fish and shrimp in the cabin, as well as a few big lake crabs, and extinguished the smoke: "I am embarrassed to sell these two small fish and shrimp to you, and spread it out that my old Liao is bullying." ”

Seeing that Lin Luoran was not disappointed or annoyed, he changed his words: "But the two offspring don't dislike the dirty here, the old man can make a meal of fish for you to eat." ”

Rong Donglin looked at his canopy boat, which was both fishing and home, and could also see the household utensils placed in the corner of the boat, black and swarthy like the skin color of an old fisherman, in other words, this is a somewhat dirty fishing boat.

In such a place, Senior Sister Lin is afraid that she won't be able to eat.

Rong Donglin thought she was going to refuse, but Lin Luoran heard the old fisherman's words, but her brows furrowed:

"Then I'll be really cheeky and stay for dinner, uncle."

She put away her umbrella and jumped onto the deck. Rong Donglin naturally had to follow the boat, confused.

The old fisherman was really not too timid, so he made a fire with a thin wooden board in a small stove, put an iron pot on the rack, mixed it with water and boiled it, picked out some fish, shrimp and crabs from his net pocket, and quickly opened his intestines and stomach behind the cabin, cleaned up the fish maw, the head of the crayfish, and the thin feet of the crab, and poured it into the pot that was already boiling.

There is no ginger, no green onions, and no cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, Rong Donglin is not very looking forward to the white water fish and shrimp, but after the old fisherman sprinkled a pinch of salt, he smelled a fresh fragrance.

The old fisherman took out two porcelain bowls with paint off, and one of them gave them a large bowl.

"Eat."

Lin Luoran had no disgust, and drank it in a small sip while holding the porcelain bowl. Perhaps it is precisely because there is no seasoning except salt, to the people of Rongcheng, who are accustomed to eating heavy dishes, that this fish and shrimp are a little bland, but after a while, you can taste the unique deliciousness of the game.

"It's really fragrant, isn't it, Senior Brother Rong?"

Lin Luoran ate very satisfied, and Rong Donglin vaguely agreed to her, really because her mouth was also full of fish meat.

Seeing that they don't look like they are fake, the old fishermen's faces are like ravines carved out by knives, and it is not easy to notice that they are stretched.

"Uncle, thank you for inviting us to eat fish......"

"Thanks to your patronage, the two of you ate two bowls of fish, and he drank an extra bowl of soup, just give the old man three hundred yuan."

The old fisherman asked for money when he spread his hands, and he didn't pay attention to the relationship between Lin Luoran's words at all. This person, don't talk about feelings, hurt money!

"You ......" Rong Donglin felt pain when he heard it, three hundred yuan to eat two bowls of small fish, where is this hospitable fisherman, he is ripping bamboo.

"What's wrong with me? The old man said he would invite you two to eat? My fish is wild, you look at it, you don't put any additives, it's worth 300 yuan! The old fisherman rolled his eyes and was speechless.

He is not good at arguing with people, he is blocked by a few words and his face is red and his neck is thick, if he is not afraid of bad things, Rong Donglin would have brushed his sleeves and left.

The three red tickets were pinched by a Qianqian's thin hand, pulled out of the wallet, and handed to the old fisherman with his teeth and claws.

The folds on the old man's face were all stretched, and his hand stained with fish scales took the three hundred Huaxia coins, and smiled: "Little girl, you are still on the road, not bad!" ”

Lin Luoran threw Rong Donglin a slightly calm look, and sat on the small bench chatting with the old fisherman.

Maybe it was because he received the money, the old fisherman simply answered all questions, Lin Luoran started with the usual question:

"Uncle, you should have been fishing on this Dongting Lake for many years, right?"

"The little girl is really discerning...... Since the old man was nine years old, he has been wandering on this Dongting Lake for 60 years now. ”

Sixty years have passed, and it has only been sixty-two years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and he is really an antique.

The two of them chatted all the way, but it was getting late, and the old fishermen seemed to feel that the three hundred yuan they gave was worth the time, and began to get impatient again.

"I mean, you're not going to spend the night on the old man's ship, are you?"

Rong Donglin thought of the can't see the primary color of the shed, there was a greasy feeling, if he really wanted to sleep here, he would eat the sky-high fish soup in the afternoon.

The rain was getting heavier, and a strong wind was blowing on the edge of the lake, causing the small fishing boat to sway from side to side, and from time to time waves crashing against the cabin - tonight was a rare stormy weather in spring.

Lin Luoran's voice was blown away by the wind, and his tone was still so casual:

"Uncle, you are a person who has seen the world on this Dongting Lake, you said that if it is the bottom of this lake, there is really a Dragon Palace...... Where will it be? ”

Senior Sister Lin went around in a big circle, just to ask this weird-tempered old fisherman about the whereabouts of Dongting Dragon Palace?

Rong Donglin felt a little dizzy, was it too windy by the lake, the rain was cold, and Senior Sister Lin had a cold and fever......